「我々は何と闘っているのか？」

What is our struggle?

September 11th, 2001. 11 at night. I'm calling a hospital. My friend's tired voice answers.
"I'm scared…"
"You'll be fine! People don't die so easily."
"I'm not afraid of dying. I'm afraid of the pain."
I'm a little angry; it seems like we've had this conversation many times before. I'm still young and able to feel peoples' pain as if it's my own. Twirling the cord around my finger, I look to the television. A plane has just hit the World Trade Center in New York. It's like a movie. I see people running for their lives. I sit dumfounded, staring at the soundless footage.
"Are you there?"
"Yeah...but, something awful has happened."
"What?"
"A plane has hit a building in New York."
"What do you mean?"
"Turn on the TV. It's on every channel!"
I hear my friend gasp.
We wonder who would've done such a thing. We hang up.
It's been a long time since that day, and the world seems to get worse and worse. I still remember that phone call sometimes.
"I'm scared…"
I wish I'd had a better answer. Unless we face our fears, the fear grows. We end up controlled by our fears. Violence. Discrimination. War. Plague. Exploitation. Hunger. Bloodshed…